Unreal Engine 3 has been used in some high profile RPGs, most notably Last Remnant and Lost Odyssey.

Gears of War and Unreal Engine 3 developer Epic Games will be forming a Japanese branch, Famitsu.com reports today. The new branch, to be named Epic Games Japan, will work to strengthen Japanese language support for the Unreal Engine 3 game engine.

Famitsu.com appears to have been tipped off about this development by an invite to an April 15 press conference where the Japanese branch will be formally announced. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney will greet the press at the event and will be joined by Grasshopper Manufacturer's Suda "51" Goichi, who's currently working with Electronic Arts on an Unreal Engine 3 powered game. Gears of War lead designer Cliff Bleszinski will also deliver a video message.

The site did not provide further details on the new branch.

Although mostly known for its western shooters, Unreal Engine 3 has been used by local developers for some major RPG projects, most notably Last Remnant from Square Enix and Lost Odyssey from Microsoft and Mistwalker. Famitsu.com notes that Epic's move into Japan comes in the face of increased Japanese support from Crytek's CryEngine 3.